


Tangled Web

by storyhaus



Category: Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-14
Updated: 2018-02-14
Packaged: 2019-03-18 10:57:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,298
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13680297
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/storyhaus/pseuds/storyhaus
Summary: Quark and Ezri are married?!?





	Tangled Web

**Author's Note:**

> Happy Valentines Day to my fellow Niners.

Tangled Web

 

Dr.Julian Bashir stepped through the airlock with a sigh. After three weeks away all he wanted  
was some quiet time with Ezri,the woman he was passionately in love with.

' Dax to Bashir.'

"Go ahead." Julian smiled.

' I need to see you in your quarters.'

"I'll meet you there."

' See you in a few,Dax out.'

 

Julian hurried to the nearest turbolift and reached the habitat ring in minutes.  
He walked quickly to his quarters anticipating the greeting he would get...and give.  
"I'm home," he called stepping inside. "Ezri?" He inquired when silence greeted him.  
Puzzled,he walked into the bedroom and dropped his bag onto the chair. The door chimed and  
he went to the bedroom door and called for them to enter. A smiled graced his lips to see  
Dax come in.

"Welcome home." She greeted.

"Thank you,how about a kiss?"

Ezri came over and gave him a passionate one.

"Coming home is definitely the best part of going away." He murmured kissing her neck spots.

"Julian...we need to talk first." She broke away and walked to the couch.

"Something tells me I'm not going to like this conversation."

"Actually you might find it amusing."

"When someone prefaces what they are about to say with that phrase it is a sure bet  
I will not be amused,so just tell me." He replied joining her.

"Well,it all started when this species,the Biljac,came from the Gamma Quadrant and wanted  
to talk business with Quark,and of course being Quark,he was very receptive,except that they...  
well,they only do business with married people,something to do with their perception of a   
businessmans honor being tied to his marrige and...well...you...see...Quark...sort of...told them  
he was married...to me." Ezri finished with a cringe waiting for the eruption.

Julian was silent for a long moment then turned to her.

"Why you? Why not Glidia or Midia?"

"He saw me passing by and just blurted it out. Please don't be angry,it's just for another week  
then they'll go home and Quark can tell them how I...ran off with a handsome," she kissed him,  
"talented",another kiss,"wonderful",kiss,"very sexy doctor." She finished with a passionate kiss.

"Quark had better agree to this scenario," Julian replied. "Otherwise a sudden malady will befall  
him leaving him comatose and his young,beautiful wife in need of consoling,which could lead to  
an affair with his--"

"Handsome,talented,wonderful and very sexy doctor?"

"However did you guess?" Julain feigned shock.

"I've had my eye on that doctor for quite some time now."

"What a coincidence." He said pulling her onto his lap.

"I have missed you." She said as he kissed her neck.

"How much?"

She took his face in her hands and showed him.

 

She must have told him by now,Quark thought,anxiously,glancing onto the promenade.  
He thoroughly expected the 'hew-mon' to storm down here and throttle him once he'd found  
out what was going on. It's not my fault! They never told me on subspace that I had to be  
married in order to do business with them and once they arrived and insisted on meeting  
the little woman...well Ezri just happened to be passing by and I had to act quick or lose  
this business opportunity. Maybe the gods of latinum put her there for a reason. Maybe I  
really do have a chance with her..."Who am I kidding,she's crazy about Bashir," he muttered  
to himself.

"Good evening, Mr. Quark."

"Uh...Simda,can I get you something?"

"We were hoping you and your wife would join us for dinner."

"Oh...me and Ezri?"

"We would like to begin our business discussions."

"She might be in a session,let me contact her."

Yeah,a session with Bashir's bed!

 

Ezri was slipping her robe on when the comm. sounded.

' Quark to Ezri.'

"Go ahead."

' Simda and Mika have invited us to dinner.'

"Oh..." She looked to Julian who frowned but nodded.  
"Let me finish with my consultation."

' Please hurry,it would be rude to keep them waiting...darling.'

Julian glared at the ceiling.

"I'll be there as soon as I can...dear." Ezri shot back. "Dax out."

"It's clearly going to take all of my self-control not to strangle him!"

"Just remember,it's only for a week."

"One day of you pretending to be his wife is too much." He muttered.

Ezri changed back into her uniform and gave him a lingering kiss before departing.

 

"Ah,there's my lovely bride." Quark said as Ezri appeared.

"Sorry to keep you waiting,Dr. Bashir and I were in consultation."

"We have not met the doctor yet." Simda said.

"He just got back from a conference." Ezri explained as they sat down.

"I'm sure your patient is in good hands." Mika smiled.

Ezri nodded,she hated lying to this nice couple.

"So,let's get down to business." Quark said as he sent Broik to fetch their dinner.

"Yes,business." Simda agreed.

 

Julian strolled into the bar,giving a non-chalant look around he espied the foursome on the  
upper level--the two aliens appeared to be human save for the spiderweb design on the right  
side of their faces. He started up the stairs and sat at a table facing Quark and ordered.  
He would make sure the Ferengi saw him the whole time.

Quark was nodding emphatically to a point Simda was making and he glanced up to see  
Bashir looking at him. Hard as Quark tried to ignore him,he could feel Bashir's eyes boring  
into him and it made him shift uncomfortably.

Ezri on the otherhand,was delighted her lover was so near and she enjoyed the deliberate way he ate his meal and desperately wanted the couple to go back to their ship so she could be with him.

OH,NO!!! He's coming over here! Quark clenched and unclenched his hands under the table  
as Bashir approached.

"I apologize for interrupting--"

"Oh,that's okay." Ezri said smiling. "Simda,Mika,this is Dr. Julian Bashir,our brilliant Chief  
Medical Officer."

"It's a pleasure to meet you." Julian nodded and smiled pleasantly then turned to Ezri.  
"I was wondering if we might meet later and and finish that consultation Counselor?"

"Yes of course,you don't mind do you Quark?"

Julian eyed the Ferengi just daring him to say no.

"Of course not,I know how important your work is to you...my little latinum bar."

Julian balled his fists behind his back and smiled.

"I'll meet you in my lab soon...it's always a pleasure to meet someone new." He bowed to  
the alien couple then walked away.

"What a nice man." Mika commented.

"Yes,he's--"Ezri almost said wonderful then remembered Quark sitting next to her.  
"--an invaluable member of our crew."

"Why don't we get back to business?" Quark grumbled trying to forget about Bashir.

 

Ezri impatiently awaited for their business to conclude and finally another hour later it was  
and the Biljac went back to their ship.

"You might as well have sat with him the way you were acting during dinner!"

"And you should thank him for going along with this sham at all! He could have said no then  
you'd have no Biljac latinum to line your pockets!" She snapped back and stormed out.

 

Ezri jabbed the chime as she reached Julian's quarters,where the door opened immediately.

"Seventy-seven minutes." Julian reported as he crossed the room to her.

"Quark can be such a--"she seethed,but was cut off in mid-sentence by a kiss.

"Now what was that about Quark?" He asked mischieviously.

"Quark who?" She asked pulling him into another kiss.

 

 

Ezri heard voices and reached behind her to Julian,but found his side of the bed empty and   
opened her eyes in surprise. His name died on her lips upon realizing she wasn't in his  
quarters...she wasn't even in her own! She heard a laugh and her eyes grew wide,she started  
to lift the covers to climb out of bed then quickly drew them back to herself in horror as she  
realized she was naked.

"QUARK!!!!!!!!!" 

"Excuse me Simda,my lovely wife needs me."

She heard Quark say before he appeared behind the screen that had been put up to   
separate the sleeping quarters from the livingroom,unlike the crew who had separate rooms  
in their quarters.

"Get him out of here!" She hissed.

"Okay,okay,calm down."

"Calm down?!? You're not naked under here!"

"No,but I'd like to be." He leered.

Ezri grabbed his ear in a way she knew would cause considerable pain.

"GET RID OF HIM!" She whispered fiercely.

Quark grimaced and rubbed his ear once she let go then quickly returned to their guest   
to convince him to go.

Ezri wrapped the blanket around herself as she stood,she heard Quark apologize to the man  
and tell him that Ezri wanted him all to herself in the morning,'if you know what I mean'?  
Simda chuckled and assured him he understood then left the couple.

Ezri was fuming when he came back into the room.

"I DON'T KNOW HOW YOU DID IT AND AT THE MOMENT I DON'T CARE! GET ME BACK TO  
JULIAN NOW!!!!!" 

"This wasn't my fault! He just showed up! He would have expected you to be here,how could  
I explain if you weren't?" Quark whined.

"OPEN UP QUARK!" Julian shouted from outside.

"If I were you I'd go into the bathroom and lock the door...even that might not be enough to  
save you from Julian's wrath!" Ezri said heading for the door.

She knew the Ferengi could be fast on his feet but she figured he broke some speed records  
to get to the safety of the bathroom. 

She opened the door and Julian strode inside looking angrier than dax had ever seen him.  
He handed her uniform to her and she changed quickly.

"Where is he?!?" Julian demanded.

"It's not my fault!" Quark defended from the safety of the locked bathroom.

"GET OUT HERE!"

"Julian,please calm down." Ezri soothed.

"Calm down!?! That...thing! stole you from my bed and you expect me to be calm?!?"

"How was I supposed to know Simda would show up?" Quark called.

"I was willing to go along with this charade because you asked me but it is over!"

"Julian,I was angry at first too,believe me,but think of the story we can tell our   
grandchildren." Ezri said quietly,caressing his cheek.

"I had better never wake up to find your clothing but not you in my quarters again or not  
amount of persuasion on your part will keep me from DE-LOBING HIM!" Julian said  
the last loud enough for Quark to be clear where he stood.

"I love you." Ezri smiled then kissed him and they left together.

Quark listened and didn't hear anyone but didn't venture out of the bathroom for another   
five minutes just in case Bashir hadn't left yet. He didn't believe the doctor would actually  
hurt him but better to be on the safe side...afterall, his lobes were his livelihood!

 

"I don't think Quark will do that again." As they sat in the replimat and ate breakfast.

"He wouldn't live to enjoy it if he did!"

"I'm sure he knows that now but I don't want to talk about him anymore. I want to discuss  
last night and how we can improve on it." She smiled at him.

"I take it you have a few ideas?" He inquired leaning forward.

"Good morning Ezri,Dr. Bashir. Please forgive me for stopping by so early this morning,Ezri."  
Simda apologized as he and Mika appeared.

"It's fine." The Trill nodded.

"How are you this morning Dr. Bashir?" Mika asked.

"The morning didn't start out great but it's gotten much better." Julian answered truthfully.

Ezri hid a smile in her teacup.

"Difficulties with you patient?" Simda asked looking from one to the other.

"No,just a situation that needed my personal hand." Around Quark's throat!

"We need to get going Doctor,our morning staff meeting." Ezri said and rose giving an  
apologetic look to the aliens.

"I'll meet you there,I need to stop by the Infirmary first."

"Okay,I lo..ok forward to these meetings so much. You two enjoy your breakfast."  
Ezri smiled then hurried off,chagrinned over nearly telling Julian she loved him in front of  
the couple.

Julian nodded his own good-bye and walked to the Infirmary to get the overnight reports.

Just a few more days and this will be over and Ezri and I can hold hands in public again.

 

The next few days were uneventful,no middle of the night transports--Quark obviously having   
gotten the message of what Julian...and Ezri would do to him if he did.  
Though Julian hated Ezri playing the 'dutiful wife' he put up with it because she considered  
Quark a friend,just as Jadzia had,and he could never deny the woman he loved a request,  
just as he had been unable to deny anything Jadzia had asked of him,so he ate his meals  
alone and watched from afar as Quark and his girlfriend pretended to be happily married.

 

On the fifth day,after a long shift,Julian was heading to his quarters when he heard running  
footsteps,he turned just in time to get an armful of Ezri,she smothered his cry of surprise  
with a kiss that stole his breath.

"Hi stranger." She grinned when they came up for air.

"Hi yourself. I didn't think I'd see you tonight." He replied setting her on her feet.

"We haven't been together in two days,nothing was going to keep me away tonight."

"Not even your husband?" He smirked as she led him to his door which opened.

"He's working late." She teased back then pulled him inside,the door closed them off to the  
outside world.

 

Unbeknownst to the lovers,Simda and Mika had seen the whole display from the turbolift.

"Honor demands action." Simda stated.

"Fully agreed."

"We must prepare."

"Docking port." Mika ordered the turbolift.

 

Julian was in a particularly good mood when he showed up for his shift the next morning.

'Simda to Dr. Bashir.'

"Go ahead."

'May I request your assistance,my wife has taken ill.'

"I'll be right there."

Julian quickly retrieved a medkit and took a moment to download the medical information  
he'd gathered when they first arrived. Not all species agreed to be examined when they first  
came to the station,but he found that if he and his staff subtly suggested that they would   
receive better care if he knew their species' medical needs by taking a few tests upon  
arrival,more of them saw the wisdom of having a prepared physician than not.  
He hurried to docking port three where he found Simda waiting.

"This way please."

"Can you give me an idea of her symptoms? When did she first begin to feel ill? It may help  
me to narrow down what's wrong."

"I'm afraid I cannot. We wil be there soon."

He doesn't seem overly worried...

Simda led him to a stark room and asked him to wait,before disappearing through another  
door.

Julian waited patiently for several minutes,then began to wonder when Simda would return,he  
looked over as the door opened and Quark stepped inside.

"What are you doing here?" They asked at the same time.

"Simda brought me here to tend to an ill Mika."

"Mika called me and told me Simda wanted to talk business."

"What is going on here?" Julian frowned.

'Quark's honor demands retaliation.' Simda's voice boomed overhead.

"What?" Julian asked confused.

'You,Dr. Bashir,you who have taken an oath to do no harm,have harmed a bond most  
sacred. Quark has the right to vengeance...proceed.' Simda boomed again.

"Huh?" Quark asked dumbfounded.

Seemingly from nowhere a long metallic rod appeared in Quark's hand.

"What is that?" Julian asked concerned.

Quark shrugged absently and pointed it at him.

A blue ball of light exploded from the end and hit Julian square in the chest,hurtling him across  
the room and into a wall where he dropped to the floor clutching his chest and gasping for  
breath.

Quark dropped the rod and it clattered to the floor. "It's not my fault!" He squealed.

"What the hell...is going on here?!?" Julian demanded.

'Exact revenge to your satisfaction Quark.' Mika intoned as the rod reappeared in Quark's hand.

"QUARK!" Julian seethed.

"I didn't do anything!" Quark protested waving the rod around.

"Don't point that thing at me and you most certainly are at fault!" 

"I didn't do anything!" Quark whined again.

"Ezri!"

"Huh?"

"You,Dr. Bashir,you who have taken an oath to do no harm,have harmed a bond most sacred.  
Quark has the right to vengeance!" Julian quoted.

"Oh...you mean my marriage." Quark grinned.

"Your charade you mean!"

"You...you've been having an affair with my wife?" Quark asked shocked.

"QUARK!" Julian threatened.

"Well...it...it was bound to happen,we've been growing apart." Quark lamented.

"I am going to kill you." Julian said under his breath as he climbed to his feet and stalked over to   
the Ferengi,ache in his chest all but forgotten.

Upon reaching Quark something happened he would never have dreamed...Quark threw his arms  
around him and sobbed.

"It's obvious you love her....take good care of my Ezri. Treat her like a queen."

"Get off me!" Julian hissed coming to his senses.

" 'First Rule of Acquisition: Once you have their money,never give it back.' "Quark whispered  
hugging him tighter.

"You are truly a being of honor." Mika gushed as they entered the room.

Julian rolled his eyes in disbelief.

"You are a lucky man Dr. Bashir,Quark has found it in his heart to forgive you and let his  
wife pursue happiness with you openly." Simda smiled.

"Yes,how generous of him." Julian muttered as Quark stepped away.

"Come,we shall celebrate over lunch." Mika said leading them out.

Julian retrieved his medkit with a sigh.

"Oh what a tangled web we weave when first we practice to deceive." He uttered as he left.

Wait til Ezri hears this,it will rival any story Dax has heard in eight lifetimes!

 

EPILOGUE

 

Two days later Julian and Ezri walked into the bar hand-in-hand and waited for Quark to wake  
to their presence.

"So,what can I do for you two?" He asked grinning.

Business with the Biljac was going to be very profitable,nothing would spoil his mood,  
not even seeing them together.

"The '111th Rule: Treat people in your debt like family. Exploit them'." Julian quoted.

Quark's smile fell as he realized the implications.

"What do you want?" He asked cautiously.

"Julian and I have decided that eight months free visits to the holosuit,at our leisure of  
course,would be ample compensation for helping you secure the contract." Ezri answered.

"That's extortion!"

"Shouldn't be too difficult to get a message to the Biljac telling them it was all a ruse and we  
fell terrible about deceiving them." Julian mused.

"Oh,I'm sure Kira would give us a runabout--" Ezri added.

"Alright!" Quark hissed.

"I told you he'd be reasonable." Ezri smiled.

"So you did." Julian smiled back and held out his arm,which she took.  
"Oh,we'll be at Vic's...on you of course." Julian added and they headed for the stairs.

"You forgot 'Rule 17: A contract is a contract is a contract...but only between Ferengi' ."  
Quark grinned as they disappeared from view.

It was good to be a Ferengi.

 

THE END


End file.
